Girl on phone accidentally falls through hole in pavement

Xi'an (China), Apr 25: Dramatic video has emerged of a teenage girl falling through a sinkhole in the pavement in northern China, before being rescued by a passing taxi driver.The footage from a security camera,

Xi'an (China), Apr 25: Dramatic video has emerged of a teenage girl falling through a sinkhole in the pavement in northern China, before being rescued by a passing taxi driver.

The footage from a security camera, run by Chinese broadcaster CCTV, shows the girl talking on her phone in the city of Xi'an, when the ground suddenly opens underneath her feet and she falls into the hole.

Immediately after the girl falls in, a taxi stops in the road, and the driver is seen running over to the hole to help the teenager.

The driver, Wang Wei, said he climbed down into the hole using a hanging cable that happened to be attached under the pavement.

Speaking to CCTV in an interview on Tuesday, he said the hole was around six to seven metres (20 to 23 feet) deep, and when he reached the girl he saw she was lying face down on the ground.

"I shouted at her, but she had no reaction. I patted her a few times, and then she seemed to wake up," he said.

Wang said the girl was very frightened by the ordeal and didn't stop crying.

Rescue services arrived to help the pair by lowering a ladder into the hole so they could get out.

Wang said he insisted that the girl go up first.

"The ladder was shaking as the ground was quite soft, and the girl was very afraid. So I said, 'You go ahead, and I'll follow you.' That's how we got up (through the hole)," he said.

According to CCTV, the street had been eroded by underground water, which was what caused the sinkhole to form.